In the field of medical engineering, injection devices are used for injecting fluids into the body of a patient. Such injection devices may be used, for example, for administering contrast agents during imaging processes such as computer tomography procedures, ultrasonic examinations and magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) procedures. In this case, the fluids to be injected such as, e.g., different contrast agents and NaCl rinsing solutions are filled into storage bottles. The bottles containing the fluids to be injected are suspended, e.g., on the upper end of a floor stand that is usually supported on casters and connected to the injection device by means of a supply hose. The injection device comprises a pump such as, for example, a peristaltic pump, by means of which the fluids conveyed in the supply hoses are pumped into a patient hose that is intravenously connected to the patient. This arrangement proved disadvantageous because the supply hose between the storage bottle and the pump of the injection device needs to be ventilated when a new storage bottle is connected. Fluid may escape during this process and lead to soiling. In addition, the floor stand, on which the storage bottles are suspended, frequently does not have the required stability and may be inadvertently knocked over.
In order to eliminate these disadvantages, Utility Model DE 203 06 395 U1 proposes a contrast agent supply device that features at least one bottle receiver for receiving a contrast agent bottle, as well as a dosimeter pump for dosing the contrast agent, wherein the contrast agent can be conveyed from a contrast agent bottle placed into the bottle receiver to a patient hose that can be connected to a Braun's cannula with the aid of the dosimeter pump. A hollow spike for puncturing a pierceable seal of the contrast agent bottle is provided on the bottom of the bottle receiver or each bottle receiver. When a contrast agent bottle is inserted into the bottle receiver, the contrast agent bottle is opened by the puncturing spike such that the contrast agent can initially flow from the contrast agent bottle into the hollow puncturing spike and into a tank through a line that can be connected to the puncturing spike. The tank is connected to the dosimeter pump by means of connecting lines such that the dosimeter pump can take in the contrast agent from the tank and convey the contrast agent to the patient hose intravenously connected to the patient. In this contrast medium supply device, the bottle receiver or each bottle receiver is realized in the form of a cup-shaped bottle holder, the bottom region of which features a recess for receiving the top and the bottle neck of the contrast agent bottle. The hollow puncturing spike is arranged in the center of this recess. In order to load the contrast agent supply device with a full storage bottle, the operator needs to insert the storage bottle into the bottle receiver upside down (i.e., with the bottleneck pointing downward) and press the storage bottle on the puncturing spike until the puncturing spike has pierced an outlet opening into the contrast agent bottle.
This procedure is complicated, time-consuming and requires correspondingly skilled operating personnel. It also entails the risk, in particular, of the operator placing the contrast agent bottle on the puncturing spike in a noncentered fashion such that the puncturing spike cannot pierce an outlet opening through the sealing cap of the contrast agent bottle. This problem occurs, in particular, with smaller contrast agent bottles, the diameter of which is smaller than the inside diameter of the bottle receiver, because the inner wall of the cup-shaped bottle receiver cannot guide the contrast agent bottle during its placement on the puncturing spike in this case. The known arrangement furthermore proved disadvantageous because it is not possible to use larger contrast agent bottles, the diameter of which is greater than the inside diameter of the bottle receiver.
Another disadvantage of the known device manifests itself when a depleted contrast agent bottle is withdrawn from the bottle receiver. The bottle is pulled out of the bottle receiver vertically upward such that residual fluid can drip out of the outlet opening of the contrast agent bottle. Dripping residual fluid once again leads to soiling of the contrast agent supply device.